Wayne McCullough - WBC World Bantamweight Champion

Thirty (and a bit) years on from winning the WBC world bantamweight in Japan, Wayne McCullough sits down for a Christmas chat with The Rocky Road. We go back to his breakthrough as a teenager in Belfast, sparring with pros at the Eastwood Gym, his two Olympic Games which culminated in a silver medal at Barcelona 92 and moving to the US to train under the legendary Eddie Futch. What made his mentor tick? And how did they plot his route to championship glory? Wayne then recalls the night itself, how he leapfrogged the various tricks the home crew tried to play on him, and why he wants to return to the Land of the Rising Sun for a reunion with the champion he toppled, Yasuei Yakushiji, who never fought again following their July 1995 bout. Wayne acknowledges Kieran Joyce's role in giving him his Pocket Rocket nickname, pays tribute to his old Ireland team-mates and explains why he wants a role in the future of Irish boxing after Zaur Antia announced his retirement as IABA high performance head coach earlier this year. Plus Wayne also details his struggles with mental health, which he spoke about at the time when such topics were rarely discussed, and he tells us that every day’s a battle on The Rocky Road to happiness. We love a Legends interview over the Christmas period, so enjoy this conversation with one of the Irish boxing GOATs. And Merry Christmas, to all our listeners, from Kev and Simon at the podcast.

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